The basic passive structure
- Structure: verb to be + past participle
- active
- Mrs Harris cooks our food
- Subject verb object
- passive
- Our food is cooked by Mrs Harris
- object passive verb subject (agent)
- RULE: The main use of the passive is to say who / what was affected not who did the action (the doer)
The passive
Structure: verb to be + past participle (3rd verb form)
Active sentence: Hurricane kills 3,000 people
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
Passive sentence: 3,000 people are killed by a hurricane
Rule: focus of the passive sentence is on the object – in this case the object is more important than the cause
Basic Passive Rules
Explain why the passive is used in each of these sentences
- My car was stolen last night
- Hamlet was written by Shakespeare
- All the computers are checked before they leave the factory
- The Prisoner is being taken to Jail
- The problem is being dealt with in our accounts department
- Smoking is prohibited in the station
Basic Passive Rules – Answers
The passive is used in each of these sentences because…
- 1. My car was stolen last night
- We do not know who stole it
- 2. Hamlet was written by Shakespeare
- The focus is on the book not Shakespeare
- 3. All the computers are checked before they leave the factory
- It is not important to know who – that Pete and John do it
- 4.The Prisoner is being taken to Jail
- It is known who takes the prisoner – the police
- 5. The problem is being dealt with in our accounts department.
- Formality less personal and friendly
- 6. Smoking is prohibited in the station
- Rules and regulations
Passive Tense Structures
Fill in the passive column
Tense |
Active |
Passive |
Present simple | People speak English in China | English is spoken by people in China |
Present Continuous | Decorators are painting our house | Our house is being painted by decorators |
Past simple | The police caught the thief | The thief was caught by the police |
Past continuous | They were taking the dogs for a walk | |
Present Perfect simple | The police have arrested the murderer | |
Past Perfect Simple | I had told her to arrive at 9.00 | |
Going to | They are going to sell the car | |
Will | He will buy the car tomorrow | |
Future Perfect | Scientists will have built a space station by 2050 | |
Modal present | The committee should solve the problem | |
Modal perfect | They may have sold the house |
Passive Tense Answers
Passive Exercises
Use the verb in brackets and create a passive grammar structure in the correct tense
- The election ____________________(hold) next week
- Antibiotics _____________________(develop) in the 1930’s
- The new bridge _________________(open) by the Queen
- More and more cars ______________(produce) every year
- We ____________________ (invite) to Paul’s wedding
- Every car which left the ferry _________(stop) and searched
- The door ___________________(leave) open on purpose.
- Everyone who applies _____________(give) an interview
- Books _____________________(return) within 3 weeks
- He _________(promote) 3 times before becoming a director
- By 2050 the first space station _________________(build)
Passive Exercises ANSWERS
Use the verb in brackets and create a passive grammar structure in the correct tense
- The election is being held next week
- Antibiotics were developed in the 1930’s
- The new bridge is going to be opened by the Queen
- More and more cars are sold every year
- We have been invited to Paul’s wedding
- Every car which left the ferry was being stopped and searched
- The door may have been left open on purpose.
- Everyone who applies will be given an interview
- Books must be returned within 3 weeks
- He had been promoted 3 times before becoming a director
- By 2050 the first space station will have been built
Please note there is more than one answer.
Passive Speaking
Use these questions to practice speaking in the passive…
Have you ever been….
- attacked by a dog
- hit by a teacher
- interviewed for radio or TV
- hit by a car
- stopped by police
- operated on
- proposed to
- told off by a teacher
- arrested by the police
- offered drugs / illegal products
- taken to hospital by ambulance
- given a prize
- accused of doing something you didn’t do
- caught doing something illegal
Passive Speaking – processes
Answer these questions about your country…
- What is manufactured in your country?
- What are the main crops grown in your country?
- What alcohol is produced in your country?
- What is exported and imported in your country?
- How is electricity generated in your country?
you create a question…
Academic Grammar Lessons
This section is more complex advanced structures and forms.
Passive Grammar is…
…common in academic English because it helps to create formality, focus on the object and develop an impersonal stance. This blog will look at impersonal passive structures and nominalisation (using the verb as a noun).
A common way of reporting what is said by people or by an unspecified group of people
It is said that….
[It + passive verb (be + past participle) + that clause]
They report the defense minister is to resignIt is reported that the defense minister is to resignNominalised: There is a report that the defense minister is to resignNominalised: One report is that the defense minister is to resign |
To infinitive impersonal passives
The subject + passive verb (be+past participle) + to infinitive
They claim the terrorist is living abroad
It is claimed that the terrorist is living abroad The terrorist is claimed to be living abroad Nominalised: There is a claim that the terrorist is living abroad Nominalised: One / a claim is that the terrorist is living abroad |
Common verbs used in impersonal passive forms:
agree / allege / announce / assume / believe / calculate / claim / consider / declare / discover / estimate / expect / find / known / mention / propose / recommend / rumour / show / suppose / suggest / understand |
Practice
Practice Exercises
It _____________________________________________________________ The company _____________________________________________________ There __________________________________________________________ One____________________________________________________________ 2. We expect the train strike will begin tomorrowIt _______________________________________________________ The Train Strike______________________________________________ There _____________________________________________________ One ______________________________________________________ |
Answers Practice:
-
People believe the company stole over a million pounds
It is believed that the company stole over a million pounds
The company is believed to have stolen over a million pounds
There is a belief that the company stole over a million pounds
One belief is that the company stole over a million pounds
-
We expect the train strike will begin tomorrow
It is expected that the train strike will begin tomorrow
The Train Strike is expected to begin tomorrow
There is an expectation that the train strike will begin tomorrow
One expectation is that the train strike will begin tomorrow
This is a worksheet with eight more similar exercises…
Academic Passive Structures / Nominalisation
An introduction to the impersonal passive structure ‘it is said that…’ and to infinitive passive form ‘ it is claimed to be…’. Also, how to nominalise verbs to nouns to show formality in writing. This worksheets provides key information and 10 writing questions. Level ***** [B1/B2/C1] Example
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